The meeting follows a cold case review by British police who trawled through mobile phone data.

Reuters

PARENTS: Gerry and Kate McCann.

The three suspects, thought to be a burglary gang, were said to have been very close to the scene when Maddie, then 3, was snatched from her family's holiday apartment at the resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007.

The three men made a large number of calls to each other in the hours after Maddie was abducted.

Between January and May 2007, the number of burglaries in the area increased four-fold.

A source close to Kate and Gerry McCann, the toddler's parents, said the couple would be on tenterhooks waiting for any potential developments. They were "cautiously hopeful".

A source close to the Portuguese detective squad told the Daily Mail: "The British are desperate to interview three burglars that were in Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

"But they are also urging the Portuguese authorities find new evidence against the burglary suspects that could lead to arrests."